I have an opportunity to get an unused (~8 years) Sparc Classic Model 447 (microSparc chip?) file server setup at work for free. Am I right that a 32 bit version of Gentoo will install and run on this hardware?

However, the company wants to make sure that all the old data is wiped off the drives (two external and I assume one inside the 447 box). I rarely messed with this computer when it was running, rebooting by carefully following some written instructions. I think we still have the password to login to the system, but I can't find a clear method online as to how to wipe the system clean (running Solaris 5.1 IIRC). I read a little about the Format command, but I am such a noob I don't know if this means from within Solaris or not. So if there is a source of how to wipe clean this type of Sun hardware, let me know.

My main questions are:

Is there a 'Knoppix' equivalent that would boot the computer off the CD drive and allow me to wipe the hard drives clean?

Would the installation of Gentoo take care of reformatting the hard drive(s)?

Do I have to login to Solaris to access the external CD drive?

If I placed the Gentoo CD in the drive and fired up all the hardware, would it boot off the CD prior to starting Solaris?